House Republicans threaten government shutdown if border demands aren’t met

A group of House Republicans is threatening to withhold support to keep the government funded if the Biden administration doesn’t enact substantial policy changes to strengthen security at the southern border.

A growing bloc of conservatives has vowed not to advance must-pass spending legislation unless Congress agrees to a list of their demands to crack down on record-high border crossings as well as the influx of fentanyl coming into the country. The ultimatum puts Congress in an even more difficult standoff just two weeks before the government is set to enter a partial shutdown if a number of appropriations bills are not signed into law.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS FIND BORDER CRISIS ‘STOPPED’ IN EAGLE PASS AFTER CARTELS HALT OPERATIONS

The demands come as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) led a group of more than 60 House Republicans to Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday, marking his first trip to the southern border since being elected speaker in late October. Johnson has become more vocal about the border crisis in recent weeks, cementing it as a key policy for Republicans as they enter the new year.

However, not all House Republicans viewed the trip as useful. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who has long been a vocal advocate for border security, skipped the visit, citing a lack of action within House leadership to use their slim majority in the lower chamber to enact border policy changes.

Roy was among the first of his colleagues to threaten support on government funding, writing a letter to Republican lawmakers on Tuesday that he would not vote for any spending legislation until Congress “fulfills its constitutional obligation to defend our borders from invasion.”

“This means we must make funding for federal government operations contingent on the President signing H.R. 2, or its functional equivalent, into law and stopping the flow across our border (with demonstrable near-zero results),” Roy wrote, referring to the Republican-led border security legislation that passed the House last year but has since been stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

That sentiment was echoed by several other conservative lawmakers, including those who did attend Johnson’s congressional delegation to the border.

During their visit to Eagle Pass, Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Eli Crane (R-AZ), and Bob Good (R-VA) reiterated previous statements they would be “willing to shut down the government” until the border is secured.

“There is a never-before-seen security crisis taking place at our southern border due to the America Last policies of President Biden and Sec. [Alejandro] Mayorkas,” Rosendale said in a statement. “Congress must utilize every tool we have available to us to secure the border, including shutting Washington down!”

Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) made similar comments, calling the crisis at the southern border “alarming” and accusing Democrats of failing to enact stronger security measures.

“If Joe Biden and the Democrats refuse to secure the border, if they can’t love our country and the citizens enough and respect our laws, then we need to cut off funding,” Miller said in a video filmed at the southern border earlier this week. “We need to shut the government down until they secure the border.”

The growing restlessness among House Republicans puts Johnson in a time crunch because the speaker must unify his party on a number of spending bills before the government shutdown deadline later this month.

Johnson has similarly pushed for stricter border policies during his trip this week, but he stopped short of threatening a government shutdown to achieve them.

The first batch of appropriations bills are set to expire on Jan. 19, meaning Congress must pass its Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Energy and Water bills before then to keep the government open.

The deadline for the remaining appropriations bills falls on Feb. 2.

House Republicans and Senate Democrats have repeatedly butted heads over a total spending number even after one was negotiated between GOP leaders and President Joe Biden last summer. That agreement established a $1.59 trillion top line for government spending, which hard-line conservatives balked at and instead pushed for a $1.471 trillion level.

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House conservatives later said they would accept a level at or below the $1.59 trillion budget agreement after warnings that Congress may need to agree on a yearlong continuing resolution if a spending agreement cannot be reached — something members of both parties have opposed.

Congress will have only eight working days to advance their first batch of appropriations bills before the Jan. 19 deadline.